14 replies to this topic

[Qethsegol]

I really want to enjoy this class. I love turrets and guns and stuff. But I just can't get into it. Does it get better after a certain level limit?

[coglin]

Not sure if your just trolling with such a broad insinuating negative comment with no directed specifics or logic, or if this is meant to be a genuine question but is so poorly posted.

Does what get better?

Did you invest any time at all searching for your answer? Because By not actually asking a real question, it will be hard for folks to really answer much for you.

[Qethsegol]

I feel like I don't do much damage at lower levels, does it get better as levels increase? Is damage on par with other classes? Are turrets useful at all? Or are they too glitchy?

[coglin]

I have all classes 50 or above. I personally felt like all classes were weak until I had all the utility slots unlocked, learned and complied gear with the stats I want, and had the utilities learned.

Damage is on par. ENgineers probably have as man or more generally useful builds as any other class.

Turrets are very useful, but not in every situation. As with any utility skill, they have situation in which they shine, and situations in which they will have limited or little use.

[Felsexual]

Engineers are highly functional, especially by level cap, and can do highly competitive DPS.
In my experience, engineers provide the most fluid and most enjoyable kiting experience with many dungeon/fractal bosses chasing me around the room while everyone else does their best to compare.

While turrets are alright while leveling(the rocket turrets overcharged state is nice in champion battles for knock downs if you can keep the boss from hitting it) but I just can't recommend them for late game play, they are too squishy untraited and don't do enough damage to qualify being traited. You would be much better off using something like the goggles for fury on a lower cooldown or elixir U.

[Coren]

Straight up, engineers are the most flexible out there. Can buff, tank, damage, heal, combo fields of many varieties. One thing you may not like, which is hard to guess since you're enormously vague about what you dislike, is the lack of weapons.

The whole idea of an engineer is using your kits to define your build, not your main weapon. Your main weapon needs to complement your kit(s) not the other.way round.

If you take turrets, then make sure your weapon does what is best for the weapon setup you chose. If you took only gadgets and elixirs, then that's when you weapon is more important.

[Bloodtau]

You might as well reroll the class right now. it doesn't get any better. The class doesn't scale as well as other classes, has a ton of problems (stats/sigils not working on kits for eg) and their overall damage is low-moderate compared to the more well rounded classes.

[Isti]

You'll have to forgive Bloodtau.  He hates engineers, but apparently still plays one anyhow, and he spends most of his time here trying to convince the rest of us that the class sucks, or people that play engineers suck, or some combination thereof.

To answer your question, it depends on what "better" is to you.  If "better" means being able to equal a warrior or thief for sheer damage output, then no, it doesn't get that much better.  I suppose the best way to put it is that the Engineer isn't "best" at anything.  It isn't the best AoE or Single Target dps, it isn't the best "tank," nor is it the best "healer."  Best CC is debatable, but I'm sure you'll find plenty who argue that Eles or Mesmers or somebody is better.  The thing about Engineers is that they can do all of the above competently.

That versatility comes with a price.  The class' learning curve is pretty steep, and there's little margin for error in most builds.  After all, if you aren't an ezmode tank, that means tanking is harder, right?  We can't soak damage as well as the big boys in plate, so you'd have to learn how to use your CC/debuffs, blocks and movement to survive some of the abuse that warrior or guardian might be able to just stand there and take.

I will say this.  When you get to lvl 60, buy your Grandmaster training manual, and put 30 points in Explosives for Grenadier, that is a revelation.  You go from wondering if it will ever get better to wondering why other classes have such a hard time dealing with the pile of mobs you just blew up.  Hang in there, and experiment.  You'll find a playstyle that clicks - engineer gives you the best chance of finding your niche, regardless of what that niche is.

[Calebrus]

I agree with everything Isty said, and I'll offer another option:

Isti, on 05 December 2012 - 11:48 PM, said:

I will say this.  When you get to lvl 60, buy your Grandmaster training manual, and put 30 points in Firearms for Coated Bullets, that is a revelation.  You go from wondering if it will ever get better to wondering why other classes have such a hard time dealing with the pile of mobs you just blew up.  Hang in there, and experiment.  You'll find a playstyle that clicks - engineer gives you the best chance of finding your niche, regardless of what that niche is.

That's not to say I disagree with Grenadier.  But Coated Bullets is also extremely powerful, while not locking you into the clickfest that grenades require to use effectively.

Edited by Calebrus, 06 December 2012 - 02:36 AM.

[Cronos988]

I've had that same thing happen to me with mesmer. I liked the idea of illusions, confusing the enemy etc. but after a while I realized I just wasn't having fun. Maybe it was that I was just not invested with the character I created, or that the gameplay just wasn't what I had imagined it to be. In any event, I decided to switch to engineer, and, lo and behold, I had fun again.

Engineer seems to fit my playstile, while Mesmer, didn't, despite me trying to like it, just like you do.

I suggest you try out a different class, maybe what you look for in the Engineer class is really somewhere else.

Edited by Cronos988, 06 December 2012 - 09:40 AM.

[dancingmonkey]

Cronos makes a good point. As well, OP you mention turrets, which are workable but far from perfect. Perhaps your expectations with the class in general and particularly turrets was too high initially, causing some of the let down you feel. I, myself have dealt with that from other classes.

[EphraimGlass]

You might also consider experimenting with different roles.  At lower levels, I couldn't find a engineer build for single-target damage that appealed to me.  On the other hand, my ability to knock enemies around is great, I have a lot of mobility, and I can exploit those two capabilities to jump into the middle of a cluster, detonate a few bombs, and jump back out.  I can't do it alone, though.  To balance my weaknesses, I need to have a partner with better sustained damage output than I have.  That's a pattern that I've identified with most of my characters, though - I have more fun when I focus on something and invite a partner along to shore up my weaknesses.

[Majic]

Engineer definitely gets better, and can be thought of as a late bloomer profession. As with other professions like the Mesmer, the early levels can be particularly rough the first time through, and it's common for new Engineers to lament a feeling of low damage combined with low survivability.

As levels increase and more traits unlock, more synergies emerge and it becomes possible to do amazing things. It does take time and experimentation, however, and if it's not fun, the advice other players have given about trying other classes is very good advice indeed.

I don't recommend deleting your Engineer if you do go with another class, however.

You may be back.

[SpreadCheeks]

Bloodtau, on 05 December 2012 - 09:45 PM, said:

You might as well reroll the class right now. it doesn't get any better. The class doesn't scale as well as other classes, has a ton of problems (stats/sigils not working on kits for eg) and their overall damage is low-moderate compared to the more well rounded classes.

People here might say ignore this dude but the dude is right.

[matsif]

engineer as a whole isn't perfect or the best at anything.  what the profession allows is an extreme variety in what it can do, and much of it can be done on the fly by changing your utility skills and maybe a few traits (without paying for the rest).  You can do almost anything with an ability within reason of any other class, with the exception of melee dps.

There are a ton of players that only think about min/maxing in the game.  The engineer isn't the best any any particular role, so the number crunchers are gonna cry cause they want warrior/thief dps, guardian survivability, etc.  It's a thinking man's profession, so its up to the user to figure out what to do.  It requires micromanagement and situational awareness that playing a warrior doesn't require.

So, if you aren't into that sort of thing, its not going to get any better.  If you enjoy it, then the profession is great.  Many of the people I've seen complaining about the profession simply cannot get over the fact that they can't just faceroll through content mashing 2 or 3 buttons (ok, maybe grenade kit allows this to some extent) and laugh about how easy the game is afterwords.  The other major complaint I see is "wahhh I can't have sigils/weapon stats on my kits," which I truly don't understand where the complaint is as I've never felt like I had a problem with dps or survivability or anything else that the sigils or weapon stats offer.  Yes my warrior/ele/thief do more dps, but I expected that.  Yes, my guardian has better survivability, but I expected that as well.  Those professions are built around specific roles, while the engineer has the ability to fill just about any role well enough to fix that missing part of a party.

Engy was my first character to 80, and I always find myself going back to it for groups.  I can do anything in the game and not feel gimped or forced into any specific role, unlike on my thief where I know I'm basically only good for dps.  Stop looking at numbers only, start looking at what the profession provides overall.